(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling system for a vehicle, more particularly, to a cooling system configured to inject a coolant to one reservoir tank in conjunction with an engine cooling circuit and an electronics cooling circuit.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, development of environmentally-friendly vehicles has advanced with a goal of substantially replacing internal combustion engine vehicles. In general, an environmentally-friendly vehicle is classified into an electric vehicle that is driven using a fuel cell or electricity as a power source, and a hybrid vehicle that is driven using an engine and an electric battery.
An electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell converts chemical reaction energy of oxygen and hydrogen to electrical energy to produce a driving torque, and in this process, thermal energy is generated by a chemical reaction within the fuel cell, where it is essential in maximizing performance of the fuel cell to effectively remove the generated heat.
Further, a hybrid vehicle generates a driving torque by driving a motor using electricity that is supplied from an electric battery or the fuel cell together with an engine operated with general fuel, and upon effectively removing heat occurring in a fuel cell, a battery, and a motor, performance of the motor may be improved.
For example, a hybrid vehicle can be driven in an electric vehicle (EV) mode that is driven by a motor upon constant speed driving, gentle driving, and low and medium constant speed driving. In the event of acceleration and rapid acceleration, an internal combustion engine and a motor are simultaneously driven, and upon high constant speed driving, a motor is stopped and the hybrid vehicle is operated by the internal combustion engine.
Accordingly, in a hybrid vehicle, an engine cooling means for circulating coolant in an engine and an electrical equipment cooling means for circulating coolant in an electric power component including a motor are each provided.
However, in such a conventional hybrid vehicle, as an engine cooling circuit and an electronics cooling circuit are configured separate closed and/or sealed circuits. Accordingly, as two reservoir tanks must be provided for the circuits, they are difficult to be mounted in a narrow engine compartment, and a manufacturing cost is increased due to the large number of constituent elements.
Also, the weight is increased due to the large number of constituent elements, and productivity may be deteriorated by requiring a mounting time of each reservoir tank.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.